The Imagine Neighborhood helps make vaccines less scary for kids and their adults
As students prepare to go back to school and search for normalcy after a year that was anything but normal, many families feel COVID 19 vaccinations are essential to keeping children – and adults – healthy and safe.
But needles are scary and sometimes they can even hurt a little bit. Many children are understandably nervous and apprehensive about getting shots. To help young people feel more confident, calm and informed about vaccines, The Imagine Neighborhood™, the award-winning podcast that uses fun stories, lively characters, music and activities to help children grow their social-emotional skills, has developed a new episode all about what it feels like to get a shot and how to deal with the anxiety and unknowns around it. The new episode, entitled “Little Shot of Pointy,” debuts on August 23.
In this new episode, a doctor visits the Imagine Neighborhood to give booster shots against the dreaded Merman Measles. Merman Measles, as is explained by The Imagine Neighborhood creator and host Scotty Iseri, can be really uncomfortable – you begin talking like Ethel Merman and your legs turn into a fish tail.
“Kids can be nervous about getting shots,” says Dr Leslie Walker-Harding, Senior Vice President & Chief Academic Officer at Seattle Children’s Hospital who consulted on the episode. “This episode of The Imagine Neighborhood is a great tool for parents who want to help their kids face those fears.”
“Shots are both really important, and potentially a little scary” says creator and host of the series, Scotty Iseri. “We do acknowledge that shots can hurt, but that it’s also very important to get them. We have a listener with diabetes who takes an insulin shot every day, so I wanted to put a little shout out to them as well.”
Booster shots keep the neighborhood safe from Merman Measles And getting your shot when it’s your turn is the kind thing to do. It’s not just good for you, it’s good for everybody. You won’t catch the Merman Measles and you can’t pass it on to anyone else. So the people you love won’t get sick either.
The Imagine Neighborhood is aligned with the award-winning social emotional learning curriculum Second Step, produced by Committee for Children. For over 40 years, Committee for Children has championed the safety and well-being of children. Mia Doces is executive producer of The Imagine Neighborhood and Michal Richardson is the story editor. Writers are Melly Victor and Bilal Dardai, and sound design is by Mister Music Man, Lindsay Jones. For more information about the show, visit imagineighborhood.org. Grown-ups can learn more about the research behind every episode, or get in touch and let the folks at The Imagine Neighborhood know what you think.
Download The Imagine Neighborhood podcast from imagineneighborhood.org, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or Amazon.
About Committee for Children
Committee for Children is on a mission to ensure children everywhere can thrive socially, emotionally, and academically. Best known for our innovative social-emotional learning programs that blend research and rigor with intuitive design, we empower children and adults with skills that help them realize their goals in the classroom and throughout their lives. Since 1979, we’ve been connecting experts in the field to share experiences and advance the cause of educating the whole child. We also help pass policies and legislation that place importance on creating safe and supportive learning environments. Today our programs reach more than 20.5 million children in 34 percent of all US elementary schools. By lifting up children today, we’re helping them create a safe and positive society for the future. Learn more at cfchildren.org.
